80 degrees today – a bit much for this time of year. We’ll have the usual thunderstorms that follow unseasonably hot weather. This is the periwinkle/vinca that is everywhere up in our woods. Those little splashes of purple are the first splashes of color we see in the spring, followed closely by the yellow of the daffodils and forsythia (also in bloom right now.)

We worked very hard in the shed yesterday and it’s much more well organized and a heck of a lot cleaner. I even have my own section for flower pots and garden tools and also a space for potting! More needs to be done in terms of esthetics, but it’s good for now.

The lawnmower and the snow blower always seemed to take up so much space, but after we had organized everything and moved them back into the shed, they looked much smaller. It’s roomy in there!

But, boy, were we pooped! We have to get in shape again.

Nevertheless, it’s very satisfying to have finished a project.

I’m definitely holding off on clearing the garden beds until next week – even though I’d love to do it this week. It’s going down into the thirties for several nights, so those leaves covering the beds need to stay until it gets back up into the forties.

Yesterday evening, a little bit before the sun went down, I heard the Carolina wren and there he/she was, standing in front of the trailer, singing away. He hopped inside, sang a bit, hopped outside, and eventually flew up on the roof. Are they back? Did they never leave? I don’t know, but I sure was encouraged. We heard him again early this morning, when it was still dark. I also heard them in the back forty while we were outside working yesterday – another nest, maybe?

No sign of any groundhogs yet, but I usually don’t see them this early, even though they are no longer hibernating. Chipmunks are everywhere as are the squirrels. There’s a woodpecker up in our trees – I suspect it’s the catalpa – and lots of other calls I can’t identify.

One of my favorite things about spring is the sound of the birds.

Even though I complain about winter, I wouldn’t trade the seasons for anything. I had 8 years of very little in terms of a perceptible seasonal change when I lived in San Diego. It was a welcome relief from New England winters when I first moved there, but after a few years, I tired of it. I was raised in Michigan and spent a total of ten years in Philadelphia and Boston. It’s what I know and what my body needs.

Okay. I’m going to finish this up so I can go back to Last Friends  by Jane Gardam. I read a chunk of it this morning. She is such a wonderful writer – I highly recommend her.

Stay safe.

Happy Thursday.